Senate Majority PAC,[1] earlier known as Majority PAC[2] and founded in June 2010 as Commonsense Ten[3], is a super PAC. It was launched in 2011[4] with the goal of maintaining a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and preventing a "radical Tea Party take-over."[5] The PAC was focused on 2012, when 23 Democratic Senate seats were up for election, compared to 10 Republican seats.[6]

Background

The PAC was created in 2011 by Democratic strategists, including advisers to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in order to combat the conservative PACs.[4]

The operation is in seasoned hands. Longtime Reid strategist Rebecca Lambe and Reid’s former chief of staff, Susan McCue, are leading the charge — along with Craig Varoga, who runs the Patriot Majority. Two other veteran political operatives who once led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — J.B. Poersch and Jim Jordan — are also spearheading the effort, as are veteran Democratic fundraiser Monica Dixon and longtime Democratic attorney Marc Elias.

$100,000 from Mark Headley, chairman of Matthews International Capital Management in California

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $2.5 million to the Senate Majority PAC in January 2014.[9]

2012 elections

According to the Sunlight Foundation, the Majority PAC spent $37,477,541 on the 2012 elections. Of those funds, 87.86 percent achieved the desired result, based on Sunlight Foundation analysis.[10]Open Secrets also analyzed the success of 2012 general election cycle spending:[11]

The success rate of Majority PAC's 2012 spending.

Pre-election

In October, Majority PAC reported raising $10.4 million in September and an additional $9.7 million through the middle of October.[12]

Expenditures

As of April 11, 2013, Majority PAC had spent a total of $37,498,257, $3,651,229 for Democrats and $33,847,028 against Republicans.[13]